Dr. Pankaj Patel: An expert in matters of the mind

Dr. Pankaj Patel, of New Springville, is the head of the psychiatry department at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, where he oversees, among other things, a five-bed childrenâs unit, out-patient and in-patient units, detoxification units, and programs that feed in from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
(Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)

THE HEALERS

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - ALL SHORES - Renowned songbird Barbra Streisand has received mental health therapy for years, according to Dr. Pankaj Patel, chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral health sciences at Richmond University Medical Center. He notes that Tipper Gore, though exceedingly privileged, has suffered from severe depression, by her own admission.

And Dr. Patel said he once had a patient, age 50-something, who enjoyed a lucrative career on Wall Street, and described himself as having "a beautiful wife, beautiful children." He admitted "there is nothing wrong in my life."

And yet, said Dr. Patel, the man was "very depressed."

Dealing with mental illness remains a struggle in the United States, said Dr. Patel, as evidenced most recently by the shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz., where it is alleged that Jared Lee Loughner gunned down six and wounded 13 on Jan. 8, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a U.S. congresswoman, who was shot in the head, but survived.

Says Dr. Patel, the struggle to diagnose and provide appropriate, timely therapy is largely due to misconceptions about diseases that aren't expressed so much physically, as emotionally.

"Mental illness is a medical illness. There is a broad spectrum of problems," said Dr. Patel. Still, the common response to almost any of them is fear. "It could be something simple, like a panic attack," he said, but the gut reaction from most people is "Something is wrong. They're crazy."

For Dr. Patel, however, mental illness is something he's embraced, something that has shaped most of his day for the past 30 years – ever since he arrived at the former St. Vincent's Hospital in West Brighton to begin his psychiatric training.

He said maintaining a clean bill of mental health over the course of time is tough for anyone. "All of us have a certain degree of becoming depressed in their lifetime," he said.

A FULL PLATE

A calm person who describes himself as "a great listener," Dr. Patel has worked his way up over the years to head one of the largest departments of psychiatry in "the whole state of New York. Only Kings County Hospital (in Brooklyn) and Bellevue (Hospital in Manhattan) are probably bigger than us," he said.

Working out of an office in Richmond University Medical Center, Dr. Patel oversees, among other things, a five-bed children's unit, out-patient and in-patient units, detoxification units, and programs that feed in from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

He estimates that the out-patient programs see 110,000 visits a year. There are a "few thousand" detox admissions and "several thousand" in-patients each year. Six thousand were seen as part of the medical center's Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, which operates out of Bayley Seton Hospital in Clifton. According to Dr. Patel, there are only a few of these 24-hour programs operating in New York state.

"I'm practically on call 24 hours a day. The hospital has become my life," he admitted.

Mental illness is nothing new, said Dr. Patel, and it can strike people from all walks of life – from nuns and judges, to doctors and lawyers. What is new is that, thanks to more media coverage, people are more aware of it. He believes that "a lot of this (mental illness) is genetic. It doesn't always have to be situational."

Many cases of depression, for instance, are related to a biochemical imbalance or misfire, "like a lack of a neurotransmitter like serotonin or norepinephrine," he said, though situational stresses can exacerbate the problem, he added.

In addition to problems related to substance abuse, Dr. Patel said he sees a lot of bridge phobia among Staten Island residents. Treating this hang-up requires a good therapist, one skilled in exposure therapy, he said.

Dr. Patel said, for some patients, treatment can turn into a revolving door. "There are big problems with non-compliance," he said. Many patients simply stop taking prescribed medication because they start to feel better when medicated and assume their problem has resolved.

For that reason, dealing with a family member who has a mental illness can be "very stressful," he said. "Many of these conditions are long-term, lifelong. Patients have trouble staying the course for the long-term," he said.

MANY INFLUENCES

Dr. Patel, now a resident of New Springville, describes his life as a journey – and indeed it's been nothing less.

He was born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya, a coastal city in Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean. He describes Mombasa as about the geographical size of Staten Island, but with just 100,000 people when he was growing up. "It's very quiet and peaceful, like Heaven on earth," he said.

Dr. Patel's grandfather, Dahyabhai Patel, emigrated to Kenya from British-ruled India in 1918. Dr. Patel grew up with his family (mom, dad, a brother and three sisters) in his grandfather's home, but left in the late 1960s to attend college in India and to distance himself from political turmoil in neighboring Uganda.

He earned his college degree from the University of Mumbai and went on to the University of Mysore in southern India for medical school.

Dr. Patel came to the United States in July, 1980, again to escape political unrest – this time in his native land. He spent a year in Florida, taking exams for graduate medical training and the following year, made his way north to the former St. Vincent's Hospital in West Brighton. He started as a full-time resident and moved up through the ranks; by 2002, he was named training director, and in 2008, he was appointed chairman of the department, which employs about 300 people, including 30 to 50 physicians.

Dr. Patel married while in India, but divorced in the early 1990s. He met his second wife, Jill, an administrator of cancer centers at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, when she was working in the psychiatry department at St. Vincent's Hospital.

Dr. Patel has one daughter who attended Coastal Law School in Jacksonville, Fla., and was married last year. She is a licensed attorney in that state and has recently opened her own office.

AT HIS LEISURE

Perhaps because of the world in which he grew up, which was ripe with natural wonders, among them spectacular coffee trees, Dr. Patel is drawn to Staten Island's parks. He and his wife are particularly fond of hiking the Egbertville Ravine. "There's an old house in there. Only the facade is left," he said. He also treasures the breathtaking views to be had at the Tibetan Museum on Lighthouse Hill.

He and his wife dine out often. Some of their favorite restaurants are Trattoria Romana in Dongan Hills, Zest in Rosebank, the South Fin Grill in South Beach and Bocelli's in Grasmere. They also like Taste of India in New Dorp and Carol's Cafe in Dongan Hills.

In fact, Dr. Patel has taken seafood cooking lessons from cafe owner and operator, Carol Frazzetta, and when he eats at home, likes to use what he's learned to cook dishes that contain shrimp and lobster.

He serves on the board of directors of Meals on Wheels and on the advisory board of Carmel Richmond Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dongan Hills.

"This is the place that gave me an opportunity," he said. "I have to give back. When I have more time, I'll do more work for not-for-profits."

In the meantime, it's his patients that get most of his attention.

"Making a difference in other people's lives means a lot to me," he said.

Dr. Patel also operates a small private practice at 1430 Clove Rd., Sunnyside. The telephone number is 718-816-0752.